Transy ends Yellow Jackets’ season
Nick Williams, Assistant SID

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Men’s Basketball Team’s season came to an end at the hands of Transylvania University Tuesday evening as the Yellow Jackets could not pull off the upset, falling in the first round of the HCAC Tournament by the score 87-78.

DC held a brief lead when a Matt Muratori field goal gave the Jackets a 2-0 advantage 19 second into the game. After Transy tied the game at two on a Bryan Howard jumper, Curt Croy would answer with a jumper of his own. After the Pioneers took the lead at the 17-minute mark, they would never look back. The Jackets pulled within three after being down 13-4 five minutes into the game. Yet a 16-5 Pioneer run would put Transy up by 14, en route to taking a 42-29 lead into the second half.

In the second half, the Jackets came out firing, shooting 62.1% from the field and actually outscored Transy in the period 49-45. On paper, the two teams played a fairly balanced game. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field, and though the Pioneers outrebounded the Jackets four, DC committed only nine turnovers to Transy’s 12. However, The biggest discrepancy-and what ultimately turned out to be the Jackets’ downfall-came in the realm of three-point shooting, as Transy went 15-of-28 from behind the arc, including eight in the first half compared to DC’s one. Transy’s hot shooting from three-point range in the first half put DC in a hole that the Jackets could not quite seem to get out of.

Curt Croy scored 14 and grabbed five rebounds, while Matt Laudick scored seven with three boards in their final collegiate games. Anthony Pettaway had a team-high 16 points and six rebounds. C.J. Johnson also scored 14 while handing out four assists.

Transy’s Mark Bain led all scorers with 19.

DC ends its season with a record of 9-16. Transylvania advances to the semifinals of the HCAC Tournament and will host Mount St. Joseph on Friday at 8:00 p.m.